The present invention relates to medical diagnostic systems and methods, and more particularly to methods for rendering three-dimensional images from two-dimensional images generated by an ultrasound imaging catheter system.
Recent advancements in miniaturization of ultrasound technology has enabled the commercialization of catheters including phased array ultrasound imaging transducers small enough to be positioned within a patient's body via intravenous cannulation. By imaging vessels and organs, including the heart, from the inside, such miniature ultrasound transducers have enabled physicians to obtain diagnostic images available by no other means.
Due largely to their small size, ultrasound imaging transducers used to image from the inside of the heart render two-dimensional slice image “frames”. These image frames are generally bounded by the maximum imaging depth within an image scan angle. Typically, the scan angle is approximately 90 degrees, while the image depth depends upon the ultrasound frequency and the power.
While two-dimensional image frames provide very valuable diagnostic information, they require the clinician to mentally integrate many image frames taken at different rotational orientations in order to imagine how the heart appears in three-dimensions. In many medical circumstances, the clinician would benefit from being able to view the heart in three-dimensions.
While it has been suggested that two-dimensional ultrasound image frames may simply be stitched together to assemble three-dimensional images, a practical system for accomplishing this does not exist due to the difficulty of such image processing. Many factors, both physiological and technical, have prevented the combination and assembly of image frames with the degree of accuracy, detail and reliability required for cardiac diagnostic purposes.